


Lying From You

by Tshilaba



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 03:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5359946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tshilaba/pseuds/Tshilaba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I can't pretend I'm who you want me to be, so I'm lying my way from you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lying From You

The moonlight fell softly through the window, stretching across the floor serenely. The house was silent and peaceful. Its occupant, however, was not.

Robin paced back and forth across the living room floor, glancing at the clock anxiously. She had been fine all day, no matter how many times Chrom had asked her, her answer had been the same. _I'll be fine. I'm not a little girl, I can handle nine hours on my own._ And she always had been. With how often her parents left her in the apartment alone, she was perfectly capable of fending for herself. And yet...once the sun fell behind the treeline, an irreconcilable paranoia seeped into her. A million questions flooded through her. What if a robber came? What if she got sick? Or hurt? She let out a soft whimper and curled up in the corner of the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face against her knees. She was eighteen goddamn years old and she was acting like a toddler. It had to stop.

As much as she told herself so, the anxiety refused to leave, and as time ticked away slowly, first midnight and then three am, she took to cleaning the kitchen, before pulling a book down from the shelves and curling up into the armchair to read.

She hadn't moved by the time Chrom came home at seven that morning. She looked up and smiled tiredly at him. “Hi.”

“You did get sleep, right?” he asked as she put the book away.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah,” she lied, joining him where he had sat down on the couch. “I just wanted to greet you.”

He put his arm over her shoulders and she snuggled against him. “Alright, but you don't have to worry about me.”

“Okay,” she mumbled through a yawn. She felt his fingers run through her hair and smiled softly. It was only a few minutes more before she had fallen asleep completely.

* * *

A week later, Tharja was visiting during the day while Chrom was asleep.

They were baking a cake for Emmeryn's birthday, or at least attempting to, as Robin's culinary skills often left much to be desired; Panne was still the only one who would touch her stew. Tharja was the only one who still had the patience to work with her, though she often joked that her skill in the kitchen was worse than Neville Longbottom's skill in potion making.

“Robin, there's eggshells in this batter.”

“Sorry, thought I cracked it right that time...”

The raven haired woman frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”

Robin was suddenly intently focused on the piece of chocolate stuck under her nail.

“Hey.” Tharja grabbed her face firmly, but her touch was gentle. She studied her friend's face for a moment. “Your eyes are almost black. Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“Of course.”

“Don't lie to me. I've known you since we were little kids.”

“You act like we're old crones or something,” Robin muttered, avoiding Tharja's eyes. “It's only been about thirteen years.”

“I still know you. And I know when you're lying to me. I don't like having to lecture you like a child, but damn it all, I love you, and I worry about you.” She took her hands away and sighed. “I just want to know you're okay.”

Robin closed her eyes and sighed. She knew that. She loved Tharja and worried about her as well. “It's stupid,” she said finally, opening her eyes.

“I doubt that.”

“I can't sleep.”

“You just said—Chrom...”

Robin said “I can't sleep when he's not here. I'm exhausted, but I...I just...” She bit her lips anxiously, feeling the tears stinging her eyes.

“You could have called me,” Tharja said quietly. “There's nothing to be ashamed of. This is your first time really on your own.” She gave her a small smile. “If you don't quit stressing yourself you're going to work that tummy of yours into a tizzy,” she went on, poking her stomach gently and causing Robin to giggle. “You know how you get.”

“Yeah, but you're married now. I can't just run to you all the time like when we were kids.”

“Why the hell not? You're my best friend. Henry knows this.”

Robin sighed. She knew that. When Henry had proposed in their senior year, she'd had only one condition: that Robin be put above all else. Almost three years later, Robin was still not sure if she should be honored or disturbed at how easily he'd agreed.

“Why don't I stay the night?” Tharja suggested.

“I'm eighteen. I don't need a babysitter.”

“I'm four months older than you; and I'll be damned if I let you get sick. I'm staying.”

Robin groaned and ran her hands through her hair tiredly. “Tharja...”

“I'm not arguing with you,” the raven said, turning back to the cake batter, frowning slightly as she dumped the ruined ingredients out before starting fresh. “Go take a shower or a bath,” she said, measuring out the milk and pouring it into the flour. “Relax. I'll finish the cake.”

Robin sighed. Sometimes she felt that if they didn't love each other so much, they'd kill each other. She wrapped her arms around Tharja's waist from behind and squeezed gently as she rested her chin on her shoulder. “Thank you,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, stirring the rest of the ingredients. She took the spoon out and swiped her finger across it. “Here, tell me if this is sweet enough,” she said, holding her finger near Robin's mouth.

Robin licked her finger. “Hmm... Seems right to me.”

“Okay.” Tharja continued stirring. “Now shoo.”

“Okay, Mom,” Robin laughed as she let go of her waist. “I'll go run along and take a bath. And maybe get a bit dirty with Chrom."

“You do that.”

* * *

Robin sighed and leaned back in the tub. She closed her eyes and let the heat seep into her body. She'd been ignoring the minor aches and pains for too long. “Maybe I do need Tharja around,” she mused, opening her eyes to stare up at the ceiling. “She notices even the things I haven't yet...”

Anthony and Maria had given their house to Chrom when he'd graduated. He and Robin had married and moved in shortly after. It had been the simplest means of getting her away from her parents. But, unfortunately, his parents had also passed away shortly after. With Emmeryn having to take care of their little sister, Lissa, Chrom soon began to struggle to keep up with the bills, especially after Robin started college classes.

She'd mentioned dropping her classes, even temporarily, but it was Emmeryn that shot that idea down, reminding her of the promise she'd made to their parents: in exchange for their help, she was to finish college, get a good job, and raise a family, being a better parent than those before her. But how could she do that when they'd barely been able to make the bills the past few months?

She let herself sink further into the water. She didn't need to think about those things. All they did was stress her out further because she couldn't solve them. She yawned and closed her eyes again, resting her head against the wall. If only forgetting her problems was as easy as stressing over them...

* * *

Tharja slid the pan into the oven, closing the door and glancing at the clock. _I should check on Robin..._ She took off the oven mitts and set them on the counter before walking upstairs to the bathroom, where she found Robin sound asleep. She sighed and shook her head. “What am I going to do with you...” She crossed to the tub and knelt down, running her fingers through her friend's hair. “Robin. Darling, you need to wake up.”

“Mm...” Robin rubbed her eyes sleepily. “Tharja?”

“I told you to take a bath, not try to drown yourself.” She kissed Robin's forehead gently before getting to her feet. “Come on. Up,” she said, pulling Robin gently to her feet. She helped her into the fluffy bathrobe before picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom.

Robin had made a habit of sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms so she didn't disturb Chrom when he was home from work and sleeping. She was so restless normally that she feared her dysfunctional sleep schedule would disrupt his own.

Tharja set her down on the bed, but Robin tugged her shirt. “Robin, I love you, but right now I've got to finish Emm's cake.” When Robin's face fell, she kissed her forehead gently. “You don't want Emm's cake to burn, do you?”

“No...”

“Alright. Let me finish baking and then I'm all yours, okay?”

Robin nodded, but looped her arms around Tharja's neck and buried her face into her shoulder. “Can I just stay downstairs with you until you're done?” she mumbled.

“If that's what you want. But you need to rest.”

“I will.”

Tharja let Robin take her hand and they walked downstairs again. When they reached the kitchen, Robin slipped away and pulled a chair over to where Tharja was working, sitting down and leaning her head against the counter. “We're icing it tomorrow, right?”

“Mm, probably. If Lissa's free.”

Robin nodded and let her eyes close as she pulled her knees to her chest, looping her arms loosely around them. She listened to the sounds of Tharja cleaning up, and the soft ticking of the tiny little timer shaped like a robin, a gift from Lissa, who thought it was “punny”. _“A robin for Robin!”_ she'd said. That child would probably never change. She felt Tharja's fingers run through her hair gently and opened her eyes to see her leaning against the stove. “You done?”

“Mm, almost,” Tharja replied, lifting her hand away. “It should only be a few more minutes.

“Mm, 'kay,” Robin mumbled, closing her eyes again. It wasn't long after that the timer chirped and she heard Tharja open the oven and slide the cake out. She waited until Tharja ruffled her hair gently before opening her eyes.

“I'm yours now, Robi.”

“Mm.” Robin reached out and looped her arms around Tharja's neck, nuzzling her sleepily.

Tharja scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, laying her down before letting herself be pulled down alongside her. She smiled softly as Robin snuggled against her, nuzzling into her chest and wrapping her arms around her waist. She ran her fingers gently through Robin's hair, chuckling at the small sound of contentment she made at the contact. “Get some sleep now, okay?”

Her response was another nuzzle and a gentle squeeze around her waist.

Some things really would never change.


End file.
